Caught In The Crossfire
by Karai III
Summary: K-unit inadvertently cause Alex serious injury while he is on an undercover mission. Because of a twist in events they mistake him for the enemy and in an ensuing battle Alex ends up in the hospital. Check out my profile for a full summary.
1. Chapter 1

**This is another story I had sitting on my computer waiting to be uploaded but I had decided to write the whole thing first like 'In The Absence Of Knowledge'. But since ITAOK was so well received I thought to post a teaser of this.**

**As always let me know what you think. This was started long before ITAOK but when that plot bunny bit me, I sort of abandoned this.**

**Hope you like it. This story was what initiated the birth of a different configuration of K-unit personalities.**

**Disclaimer: The series does not belong to me but I sure love playing with it and the fruit of my labor is mine. **

* * *

"You almost give me reason to question your exemplary enthusiasm, child."

Alex kept his face carefully neutral, concentrating on bringing his breathing to an even pace calming his pounding headache as his pseudo-mentor slowly circled him. He felt uncomfortably conspicuous standing in the courtyard of the compound under the radical's scrutiny again; ironically for particular success in a training exercise.

He had done the best that he could on the stealth exercise, setting a record in his age group for the school and getting the fifth best time overall. Apparently that had been too good; again.

The Head of the Institute paused behind him. Protocol didn't allow Alex to turn around and follow the man with his eyes. The man touched him on the nape of his neck, apparently removing an insect stranded there by the dry desert wind. Alex did not flinch.

"Are you sure you have nothing you would like to tell me Iskandar?" He lightly tugged on Alex's black dyed hair noting the sweat on his neck. "No hidden motives?" he came around to the fore to read his eyes. But Alex revealed nothing; he had been practicing. "No Sir"

The man suddenly slapped his ever-present crop into his other hand in an attempt to startle him; it nearly succeeded. "I don't believe you." He leaned back and studied the boy curiously "Do you find that strange?"

Alex thought about his answer carefully. One thing he had learned from this man was that you could find out much by reading between the lines of one statement; things the speaker never intended to reveal.

"No" he answered simply

The instructor showed no surprise. "Tell me why you expect me to distrust you."

Alex secretly winced at the question and the trickery behind it. If he answered as though considering the man's point of view as his own, he would draw even more suspicion to himself, but what could he conceivably present as a reason not to trust him. The man would most likely see through any lie he told him under this scrutiny which would be a disaster, but nothing but the truth made any sense. And the truth was out of the question.

"I didn't expect that my charade would last for ever." Alex began, pausing to gauge the man's response as he wondered if a mixture of fact and fiction would suffice.

He was disappointed when the man simply asked "Well, why not?"

Alex barely managed not to shuffle his feet as he rapidly thought out an answer. "You do know that I am not from here right?" he asked carefully

"Your false accent alone gives that away child, that and the dyed hair."

Alex couldn't help but wince at how painfully obvious he had been. Strangely his instructor found his discomfort amusing.

"Are you surprised that I noticed?"

"To tell you the truth, yes sir," Alex answered reluctantly, only to be surprised by another seemingly random question.

"Do you tell me the truth often Iskandar?"

Alex inwardly cringed, again, at his lax use of language. The man never seemed to take what you said at face value. Something that Alex was accustomed to people doing; missing the often deeper, more cynical meaning behind his words so he could enjoy his private jokes. He felt uncomfortably bare before this man when he spoke. Nevertheless the answer to his current question was a good one.

He eventually answered in the affirmative.

The man looked at him a moment more before abruptly addressing the main topic of the conversation again without further interruption.

"I know that there is more to you than you let on, more than you care to or perhaps should admit, one thing being that you are British although you present your self as a native, but I don't like being deceived. I also despise people who lead false lives to be accepted by others and I abhor spies when I am not employing them.

You seem to try too hard for genuine reasons and not all of the things you do and say add up. Don't give me reason to dislike, despise or abhor you as well Iskandar. There are a good many things about you that you don't know that I notice, be careful ."

Alex was surprised to find that the harsh and thorough criticism actually hurt in more ways than one. Not only was his cover in serious jeopardy if it wasn't already futile, but he also found himself reluctant to have this man hate him. It wasn't that he actually liked him, but the man did command a certain respect; not demand it in the creepy way that the mad men whom he'd encountered before did. This man lacked the certain gleam in the eye that signified that he'd lost a few screws or that Satan had bought them at least; in short he seemed harmless enough to be left alone.

Besides, his reasoning behind why he should train children from the age of 12 and upward how to fight and in most instances kill, was one that Alex could relate to; he didn't agree but he understood. Children these days were still being exploited for war, strife, espionage and the like and as far as this man was concerned, they need to know how to protect themselves, evade capture and fight back when necessary.

Alex also knew that the man was secretly proud of his continued success. He was very proud of his exceptional students. There were only two students that the teacher preferred above Alex, the more prominent of which was Abhijat, a brilliant fighter who often used his looks to get what he wanted among some of the other students.

Looking back, Alex was confused and slightly frightened by the realization that he was assimilating his current environment and he made a mental decision to clean up his act lest it be his last.

"Don't mistake my suspicion for utter disapproval so very young one, but I must be cautious" the man continued trying not to dispel Alex from the road to success.

He leaned closer with a faint threat. "three spies had been found in our midst before; they were dealt with in a very... finalized manner."

The man leaned back with a smile, "You have too much talent to be disposed of like that, but I will not be labeled as partial."

Alex was silent, absorbing the information for later reference putting aside his emotional confusion for now. Eventually he asked "How can I prove my loyalty to you sir?" he was partially genuine.

"I have just the thing for you actually. After you eat, Abhijat will tell you everything you need to know and tonight you will go on your first mission." Alex nodded and slowly left for the uncomfortable living space resembling a dorm he was assigned to, feeling much worse than he had after the exhilaration of the training exercise. Just before he entered the main building the man called to him. "Iskandar," Alex glanced around obediently "You did well."

Alex nodded, allowing only his eyes to acknowledge the praise as he had been taught.

As he trudged up the stairs to their small living quarters, he rubbed his sore chest, knowing that if he didn't take his medications soon the pain would become unbearable.

* * *

"I wonder if you can manage Iskandar, I continue to point out that you are moving too rapidly." the instructor asked Alex in the dark of the courtyard that night. "It's as if you intend to shame the others."

Abhijat stood by and watched him steadily, scrutinizing his every move and glance; at nineteen years old he was small for his age, tall but very slight, he was also the best in the school and extremely skilled in body language; one had to become a living lie to fool him and Alex surmised that Abhijat was the one who had instilled such mistrust into the older man.

"I have held my own against the best of men before, why should two British scouts be a problem?" Alex answered and Abhijat carefully noted that he ignored the insinuation of insensitivity.

"You may find it harder than expected." Abhijat smirked after a split second of silence. He was almost certain that the 'four' British scouts would be better trained than what Alex was imagining and he predicted-and hoped- that he would not return from this first assignment.

Alex, for the most part, ignored the boy and his cruel games, tests and comments. But deep down he also had a burning desire to prove him utterly wrong, to prove himself actually better than Abhijat in everything and if so be, earn the approval of their teacher. The long, hard, but interesting month on this particular under cover mission was beginning to cause strange revelations and in some instances awakenings of certain ideas Alex didn't think he had any right to have. After five weeks under his tutelage, Alex was beginning to respect their radical teacher for more than just his skill as a martial artist. Alex wasn't forgetting his mission- which was to gather information-but he was starting to wander what was it that had brought this man and his school this unwanted attention in the first place.

The guy's ideas were far reaching and drastic; some were actually dangerous when considered in the right context but he'd seen nothing so large scale that MI6 had to send their best operative-he had no compunction about bragging- into a foreign country to investigate in a deep undercover setting. He realized that these scouts must have been sent because of the fact that he hadn't made contact with MI6 in three weeks. They seemed to think his was a dangerous position to be in but of course they wouldn't just pull him out.

"I have assigned Abhijat to accompany you because he is more seasoned and stronger than you are." the teacher continued, braking into his thoughts

Abhijat glanced sharply at the teacher as Alex opened his mouth to protest. "If I may interrupt sir, Abhijat doesn't need to come with me, how can I prove my worth when I'm being watched anyway?"

The teacher frowned at him with narrowed eyes, "That's the only reason you want him to stay?"

Alex refrained from glancing at Abhijat in embarrassment. Some how this man was always able to make him feel like a naughty child when he spoke, instead of a skilled adversary as he sometimes like to think of himself. "No sir," he answered after a little deliberation "I know that you've noticed that Abhijat doesn't like me in the least, and I know he doesn't want to come. Since I don't need him, why bother."

The man considered this for a while before conceding "Since you do not have Abhijat's best interest at heart, you mean to say that he will scorn you further if he has to come."

Alex nodded reluctantly as Abhijat listened in amusement.

"Well if you feel that you can complete the assignment and report to me again without any help, go ahead."

Alex nodded in relief.

"You are to lead them away from the compound by any means necessary. If they try to kill you, kill them first and if they attempt to capture you, do the same. I expect you back by sunrise."

"Yes sir."

A moment later, Alex crept off in the direction that the school's scouts had indicated. A few minutes afterwards the man sent Abhijat to follow anyway.

* * *

"I hate this bloody desert; who the hell would keep a school here?" Eagle complained as he led his team through a particularly exposed portion of a desert village in the approximate direction of the school. As they crested a small bare hill and lay flat against the ground in their sand colored fatigues, Wolf consulted their directional equipment again and scanned the southern horizon with his night vision goggles. "This place is #$% crazy, there's nothing here." he growled

"They did an aerial scan yesterday" Snake pointed out.

Eagle turned to him in annoyance "And we weren't given the results of that scan. We were just sent into the middle of the desert with an 'it should be around here'; as far as I'm concerned the scan is barely worth bull."

Wolf nodded in agreement but made no comment.

"Think they got a tip?" Fox asked

Wolf thought about it for a moment as they continued down the hill towards a small forest of sangri trees, leaving the village behind them. "Maybe, but how do you hide a school using Stone Age technology?"

"Who knows?" Eagle answered dryly as they picked their way between the medium sized trees.

* * *

Alex quietly watched the four men wander through the forest from his perch in the thick lower branches of a densely foliated tree. He was sizing up the situation while trying to shake the feeling that he was being watched. The best thing to do would be to make contact with them and exchange a morsel of information regarding his status but not the location of the school. He had brought a note with him for just that purpose. But the Teacher would get suspicious if he came back without bruises, besides he kept getting the impression that something was a little off. He noted that the team was close to leaving the cover of the small congregation of trees but the strange sensation was making him nervous. He glanced around again to assuage his suspicions and noticed the gleam of something white in the upper branches of his tree. He stared at it for a few seconds and was thoroughly spooked to suddenly see the flash of Abhijat's trademark smirk. A small gasp escaped his lips causing Abhijat to grin wider.

Alex experienced a wave of fury at his nemesis before the reality of his situation set in; with Abhijat watching he would have to pretend to be the enemy, he would have to try leading them away from the compound and possibly engage in combat; he doubted that Abhijat would leave before he was done but he probably wouldn't help either. However I t never occurred to him that Abhijat would stay and watch only to see him gone.

* * *

The four men carefully maneuvered between the trees, becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress. At their current rate of success, sunrise would catch them exposed and far from camp with nothing to show for it but an aggravated temper. They could now see beyond the cover of the sparse forest but there was still no sign of anything bigger than a one to two room hut.

Snake hissed his teeth in extreme annoyance "This is a fool's errand man; you don't send the SAS for this kind of bullshit."

Eagle stopped short in the middle of a wholehearted nod when they heard a small sound. The four men turned in unison, scanning the area. A second later a black clad figure darted behind a narrow trunk in the direction they had just left. Wolf started towards the tree but the individual dashed past a few trees heading east before disappearing again. Instead of calling out for the person to stop, Wolf silently signaled for the rest of the team to follow him, but Fox grabbed him by the shoulder before he could get any further. "What are you doing?"

Wolf glared at him as Snake and Eagle continued to investigate "We have to look into this, it could be a student."

"We're supposed to locate the school and make contact with the agent, you can't just change the rules and chase after some random figure who just might be a trainee," Fox countered.

Wolf visibly bristled causing Fox to back down slightly, "Are you challenging my authority Fox?"

"No, but it's an unnecessary deviation from the mission," he answered a second later.

Wolf shook his head and followed Snake and Eagle. "A random local wouldn't follow us into the bushes and if it's a student we'll find the place much faster than this; there's nothing to lose."

Fox shook his head but followed any way.

By the time Fox joined the others a couple meters away from the tree, they all had their weapons drawn and ready, scanning the tree tops as they surrounded the tree, but when Snake rounded the trunk of the tree in question it was empty with no sign of where the mysterious person had gone. They immediately scanned the tree crowns above them but what they heard was a faint laugh several meters in the opposite direction. However just as Fox and Snake ran off in the direction of the laugh, Eagle was kicked in the head from behind from the same tree they had come to investigate in the first place.

Eagle stumbled forward from the force of the double footed blow but soon recovered, carefully watching the trees and the ground. Wolf followed the sound of a twig snapping and barely dodged a savage kick to the knee only to have a bright torch shined in his goggle clad eyes. By the time he yanked the night vision equipment off with a pained yell, the light was gone, but in that vulnerable moment as his eyes adjusted, his assailant clipped him under the jaw causing him to stumble back a step. Fortunately Eagle stepped in then and swept the attacker from behind causing him to fall to the ground, but the boy rolled over lightning quick and grabbed Eagle's pack as leverage to swing himself into the nearest tree again. From there he scrambled to the highest stable branch and attempted to jump to the next tree, but Snake shot the branch out from under him with uncanny precision having retained his night vision goggles.

The boy fell a short distance but landed hard, however he was up within five seconds and ran in the direction the men had originally come from to put some distance between them. He didn't count on a warning shot from Fox though, that grazed his thigh, significantly slowing him down. Less than a second later Eagle was upon him with a swift kick to the back of the knees but he was able side step it and elbow the man in the ribs. But it was becoming clear that it was a lost cause. The men now had him surrounded and he was weakening; his lungs were burning and his chest was beginning to seriously ache again.

Before he could get away again Fox grabbed the back of his neck to allow Wolf to bring up the butt of his assault rifle to knock him out. But the boy was growing desperate; as soon as Wolf was in range he kicked him in the groin as hard as he could. Luckily for Wolf the boy did not meet his target dead on but it hurt all the same. As Wolf cursed and stumbled in pain, the boy twisted out of Fox's grip and barreled past Eagle and up into the nearest tree thanks to the species low hanging branches.

He just managed to pull himself up, grunting with exertion and pain, as Snake lost patience with their violence restriction and fired a real shot that just barely missed his head as he leapt to a much closer tree. But Snake was below him again in a heart beat and he felt the man grab his dangling ankle and pull him down. He was just able to regain his balance when Snake landed a solid kick to the chest meant to seat him, which it did. The boy collapsed a few meters away after letting out a surprisingly pained scream. He landed with his back against a tree and stayed there.

Abhijat watched the whole altercation from various perches after his initial slip up with the laugh. As he saw and heard Alex scream in pain he was acutely aware of the sound of a snapping bone. He wondered if the man was just that strong or whether his little nemesis was simply that weak. He was momentarily surprised when he heard a gurgled form of his name come from the boy as the men approached and he was amazed that the boy thought he would actually help. He whispered a scornful goodnight to him before silently trekking off the way he had come to tell his teacher a remarkably truthful lie.

* * *

**There, a rather long teaser. I can't say when this will be updated because even though half of it is already written I'm not sure where it will end plus my Spy Fest story and ITOAK have a higher priority but I'll definitely continue if enough people like it.**

**So go ahead and tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, frequent updates you say, I say frequent small updates or else you guys are going to devour the small reserve of already written work I have here. So little morsels to chew on per week are preferable I think. Now I thought that I should point out that in this fic and my torture fic, ITAOK the characterization for the interaction between Alex and K-unit is based on a slightly AU universe beginning at the end of Point Blank. **

**I thought that Alex would have been a little more grateful towards Wolf for saving his life so he asked and was allowed to see Wolf in the hospital to say thanks. In the process they have a small talk in which they try to sort out the worst of their differences and consequently they go their different ways on better terms than before. **

**Because of this Alex and K-unit keep in touch a little more. The men check up on his status from time to time to see how he's doing as their fifth member and so because of this they're closer than would be expected. **

**My second note is that I decided to make Wolf British-Indian with a slight Hindi accent. He was described as dark and he had a slight accent that Alex couldn't quite place. Since Alex knows Spanish then I realized that having him Hispanic wouldn't really work so instead he has an Indian heritage.**

**And last I should point out that this takes place after Ark Angel. I came up with after thinking back on the Alex's performance in that book and growing terribly annoyed by how unrealistic it was. I decided to have the CIA and MI6 use underhanded methods to get him to perform fully with out giving him leave for recovery and the effects of it will eventually unfold as the story continues. If you don't particularly like MI6 bashing then you might not want to read this.**

**(takes a large breath) **

**That was a very long but hopefully informative author's note.**

**You may now proceed with your morsel. **

**Disclaimer: This is getting so old.**

**Previously:**

_He just managed to pull himself up, grunting with exertion and pain, as Snake lost patience with their violence restriction and fired a real shot that just barely missed his head as he leapt to a much closer tree. But Snake was below him again in a heart beat and he felt the man grab his dangling ankle and pull him down. He was just able to regain his balance when Snake landed a solid kick to the chest meant to seat him, which it did. The boy collapsed a few meters away after letting out a surprisingly pained scream. He landed with his back against a tree and stayed there._

_

* * *

_

Alex felt one of the men grab his ankle and cursed his sluggish reflexes as the soldier pulled him viciously to the ground. He barely managed to save his ankles from a painful sprain when the man kicked him in the chest so squarely that he stumbled back several feet before falling to the ground. The pain he felt in his chest as old wounds reopened and his barely healed ribs broke was so intense a horrified scream escaped his mouth before he felt blood welling up in his throat.

He realized that it had been better for him if Abhijat had either stayed at the base or had helped him and he tried in vain to call for his help now but by that time one of the men was already upon him pulling off his black hood.

* * *

"What the hell did you do to him?" Wolf demanded curiously as he retrieved his night vision and approached the still boy with a limping slightly "We can't interrogate him for any information if he's dead you know."

Snake shrugged confusedly "A kick like that shouldn't have hurt that much."

"He's still a kid though." Fox added feeling somewhat disgusted by what they had done.

Eagle stood over Wolf looking for any other hostiles as his comrade stooped down to remove the boy's hood and check him out. After a full minute of no response from Wolf he demanded to know what the matter was.

Wolf answered slowly "This boy looks kind of familiar," he began

"So what?" Snake interrupted impatiently "You must have seen dozens of Indian boys before, half of your family is- "

Wolf cut him off in agitated annoyance "He's Caucasian."

Eagle thoughtfully produced a torch from his backpack and handed it to Wolf.

He wasn't prepared for Wolf's soft exclamation as his discovery proved to be frightening.

"Oh My God!"

Eagle whirled around as Snake and Fox came up to them "What is it?!"

Wolf shined the light down at the still, blooded face of none other than their unorthodox fifth teammate Cub. Wolf felt horrifyingly sick to the stomach knowing he and his teammates were responsible for the damage.

His chest flailed unevenly as blood sporadically burst from his mouth. His pulse was slowed and the wound on his left thigh bled profusely as well. Wolf's voice nearly trembled as he gently picked the boy up and said "It's Cub."

"What the #$% are you talking about?" Fox demanded as Wolf got up with the kid. "Why would Cub be out here?"

Wolf marched past him in the direction they had come with a stony face. "He must be the agent."

"The agent?!" Fox repeated in disbelief.

Wolf snapped at him in a strained voice "Yes the agent, I've seen enough to realize that that must be the case" He started to jog to cover more distance while at the same time refrain from injuring the boy further.

"You mean the agent were supposed to check up on in this #$% desert is Cub?!"

Eagle demanded to know.

Wolf hesitated "It's the only thing that makes sense."

He glanced down at the limp figure in his arms again to see if there might have been a mistake but it was Alex and his face was distorted in hacking coughs followed by watery gasps in a desperate struggle for air.

"How the hell does that make sense Wolf?" Snake exclaimed following him

Wolf stiffened at Snake's tone. "Shut the hell up Snake, because whether it makes sense or not you still disobeyed orders and it may cost him his life. Eagle, radio in for help."

There was silence for a few seconds while Eagle did as he was told as there always was when Wolf snapped like that; the man never actually barked at you when he reprimanded, he more snapped in a smoothly enraged voice that was somehow more potent.

Wolf reluctantly stopped at the edge of the small forest as he realized that the boy was drowning and choking in his own blood. He laid him down on the ground again and opened his shirt to asses the damage and some how help him till they could hand him over to more capable people.

"Why do you think he's the agent Wolf?" Eagle finally asked as he helped Fox quickly ripped through their lightweight packs to find any gauze they may have had on hand for first aid; they needed to cover a bleeding puncture on his chest where a rib had pierced the skin and the superficial wound on his thigh.

"Besides the fact that everything that has happened up until now supports that," Wolf answered "I've seen him in action before; up at this school where I later realized he'd been working under cover."

Cub's gasps were becoming more desperate and his pulse was faint and erratic, it was becoming obvious that he was bleeding into his lung profusely. Wolf looked up at Snake with a pained look but the taller man turned silently away "We're not going to make it past here Eagle," Wolf urged "did you radio in for a MEDEVAC?"

Eagle nodded, watching the boy struggle "but it's not going to be quick and there's nothing else I can do."

Wolf turned back to the child with a thunderous expression and tried to help Fox turn him on his uninjured side to help him anyway they could.

"That time when I was off duty for a bullet to the arm," Wolf quietly continued "I got it saving his ass at that school. He also hinted at his work a couple of times when we talked."

"He never let that on when we saw him," Eagle observed

"I suppose he thinks only I'm supposed to know since I was there once."

"Is there any proof?" Snake spoke up suddenly, dreading what might happen to Cub if he didn't get help in time.

Wolf didn't answer but began searching Alex's bloody clothes for anything he could find that might confirm that he was the agent. It seemed foolish to even look knowing that Alex would have known the dangers of carrying such a thing around but he looked anyway and eventually found the note that Alex had prepared to exchange to the team had he been alone during the encounter.

It said: _'There has been nothing to report the past few weeks. However they are getting suspicious of me but I can find no criminalizing evidence. The people here are cunning so I cannot make frequent contact but I think I'm wasting my time; all my searches have turned up nothing.'_

Wolf pocketed the note and blinked a few times as Alex's struggles slowed and there was still no comforting whorl of helicopter blades. "Cub definitely was the agent" he announced suddenly "And I think he was followed here so he couldn't pass off this note to inform us." He handed them the note as Alex arched his back and coughed violently splattering blood on the ground around him, further aggravating the puncture wound. "He had to make it look real" Wolf continued as he thought of the laugh they had heard on the other side of the wood "but we went over board." and again he glanced meaningfully at Snake who was reading the note.

Fox noted that Alex was slipping into shock now and it was only a matter of time before he died if they didn't get help. His breathing was wheezy and halting at times and Fox began to wonder whether CPR would be an option if he stopped breathing altogether what with a rib poking through his chest.

Fox sat back on his haunches shaking his head sadly "There's nothing we can do but wait." and the men instinctively looked to the sky for any sign of airborne help but it was empty.

"I wonder" Snake began tentatively "what happened though. A kick like that just couldn't break ribs. Not unless they were already broken."

Eagle considered what he said "It does seem that way, but how could he do what he was doing with partially broken ribs; they'd hurt like hell. It just doesn't add up."

"Quiet!" Wolf suddenly commanded. A second later they listened and heard the remarkably sweet sound of helicopter blades coming closer.

Wolf scooped up Alex again whose skin was sweaty and cold as his condition deteriorated further, to carry him to the chopper a soon as it powered down.

One painfully long minute later they were clear to approach the medical helicopter and a med team jumped out to meet them. The EMTs were surprised to find that the downed 'team member' was a child but they hurried even more so because of it.

* * *

**There you have it. One very small chapter compared to what I would like to post and a little background information to hold you over until the next post.**

**Please review as always. Each and every one of your reviews for last chapter were so encouraging. I didn't expect this to be so well received. So don't hesitate to review so I will no how I'm doing.**

**Thanks **


	3. Chapter 3

_**Sorry I'm in a big rush right now but I'm not going to get to update again for days and I like to keep my word. So here's the next chapter. If there is anything that confused you let me know so I can clarify because this chapter called for maybe more research than actual story writing and I know its still not accurate so just ask if you have a question. As always please review.**_

_**Previously:**__ Wolf scooped up Alex again whose skin was sweaty and cold as his condition deteriorated further to carry him to the chopper a soon as it powered down. _

_One painfully long minute later they were clear to approach the medical helicopter and a med team jumped out to meet them. The EMTs were surprised to find that the downed 'team member' was a child but they hurried even more so because of it._

* * *

As soon as everyone was in, the pilot took off again while the chief combat medic on board took over from the two EMTs.

"What happened here?" the seasoned medic demanded to know as he checked Alex's vital signs strapping an oxygen mask to Alex's face. Then he began cleaning the blood off his chest to asses the damage there.

"We're not quite sure sir." Wolf explained "The surface wound on his thigh was a warning shot but we don't know how the kick to his chest could have done so much damage."

The doctor glanced up in horrified surprise "You mean you all did this?"

"Yes sir," Wolf answered shamefacedly "unknowingly yes."

"Unknowingly huh?"

The doctor then ignored them as he concentrated on Alex fully. His chest was unusually black and blue with strangely neat scars running across it and his protruding rib actually originated through one of these scars. The man tried to figure out were the relatively fresh scars came from, while he suctioned blood from his mouth and nose and prepared him to receive blood. But while he was peeling off the blood soaked bandage that Fox had made, the signal from the ECG connected to Alex's chest went flat.

Before the doctor could say a word his assistants brought over the defibrillator and they hastily got to work trying to jump start his heart again. "We need to try an open heart massage." The doctor switched tactics frantically. I suspect serious internal damage from they way his chest is caved. Bring the equipment and administer the anesthetic."

He turned to K-Unit. "He needs blood now! Do you know his type?!"

The men shook their heads in unison.

"Shit! We don't have time for a screening and he can't afford not to have it! We'll have to take the chance with type A then." Before he could ask Wolf stepped forward and pulled up his sleeve. "I'll do it."

Wolf was forcefully pushed into a chair and rapidly prepped for them to take blood from a fresh artery. "I assume you're not sick." The medic asked as she connected him to Alex who was in the process of being hastily prepped for a thoracotomy. "I'm fine." Wolf answered watching in horror as the doctor and his other helper cut Alex completely across the chest to expose his heart and lungs.

"Can they save him?" Wolf asked the EMT as she cleaned him up.

She looked at him sadly, "I truly don't think so; cardiac arrest with deep chest trauma is never a good sign plus this procedure hardly ever works" her eyes hardened "and in case you and your men didn't realize, he's actually a child."

She watched Alex very carefully for a few seconds after the connection to see if the blood was compatible but she knew they wouldn't really be able to tell just yet.

She left him then to help the team resuscitate his fallen comrade. They frantically changed tactics every few seconds when one didn't work in the hopes of giving him a second chance but the situation looked grim. They continued like that for an agonizing two minutes eventually using the risky defibrillator anyway before the ECG registered a heart beat once again.

Everyone in the small cabin unconsciously smiled in relief but the reprieve was extremely short-lived.

"You! Grab his hand." the doctor suddenly barked at Wolf who quickly obeyed. "He's probably going to be in a world of pain in a minute because that anesthetic was hastily done."

It never occurred to Wolf that Alex could have been awake throughout his wait for the air lift but he realized that until shock set in there had been no real reason for him not to be. However, even if he hadn't been, he definitely was now.

* * *

Alex came around gradually, in the sense that the awareness of an intense burning in his chest hadn't startled him awake but had grown until he felt he would scream if it didn't stop at which point he started to thrash his head back and forth. He felt himself losing control completely. The tube down his throat was choking him; his chest was on fire yet itching, he couldn't scream, he couldn't call anyone for help, something was being placed on his chest which amplified the pain by ten yet when he tried to snatch it away his arms were restrained. He reflexively arched his back as the discomfort drove him insane only aggravating it further. He heard someone calling him, yelling his name but the voice was distant. His last primitive thought before he lost consciousness again was that he wished death would hurry up and come.

* * *

"What just happened?" Eagle asked after helping restrain Alex until they could put him under again.

The doctor ignored him and went to find out from the pilot how long before they reached a competent hospital to land.

When he returned from the cockpit he looked furious and his anger was directed at K-unit. "I want to know what the hell happened down there to put this boy in that kind of condition and I want the truth. If I suspect foul play of any sort there will be repercussions.

"I have never lost a patient that young before and I don't intend to today but out here in the middle of rural India, I just don't think he'll make it till we get to a hospital."

K-unit instantly came to attention. Seeing the severity of the situation Eagle began to explain immediately.

"As we said before Doctor, some aspects of this are totally confusing to us but what we know and did was mostly what we were told. We were sent into this sector of the Thar Desert to make contact with a federal agent who had been marked as MIA. We were having trouble finding his location when, when he" here he faltered and Snake took over.

"We found out that we were being followed but when we went to investigate, the intruder attacked. We tried capturing the person but that proved futile. As a last resort I kicked him in the chest intending only to momentarily stun him."

"The situation was unfortunate," Wolf added "because we later found out that the person following us was the agent intending to exchange information about his status but apparently he'd been-"

"Circumstances suddenly forced him to pretend that we were the enemy. We ended up treating him the same way." Fox corrected "That kid in there on the verge of death who is the agent also happens to be the fifth member of our unit, so you understand that we never meant any harm; he's a team member and we had no idea he was out here or that he was an agent for that matter. If we had known none of this would have happened."

The doctor stood listening with a livid expression. "Has he had major surgery in the past month?" he asked suddenly

"I was told he had an appendix out about that long ago." Wolf answered guardedly

"Who told you that?" the Doctor demanded

"His agency"

"Does this have anything to do with why his condition is so bad in spite of the circumstances leading to it?" Snake asked

"It has everything damn thing to do with it!" The doctor bellowed "Who ever told you he was in the hospital for appendicitis was **lying, **there are no such scars. What he had was major chest surgery for some sort of ballistic injury. What's worse is that the damage has not healed in the least. His rib broke like that because it was cut to begin with and underneath is massive internal damage; it's like he's been used for some sort of battering ram. Yet you say he attacked you!"

As what the doctor was saying began to dawn on the men, they realized that MI6 had a lot to answer for.

"Then you mean he's been on some killer pain medicine or something because he was nothing short of functional when we encountered him." Fox responded

The doctor nodded, now almost distraught. "If we can't get him to a hospital in 30 minutes tops, he **will** die. That kind of damage is what kills people in car accidents and stunt shows." He ran a hand through his short brown hair. "What the hell have they been doing to him." he whispered to himself. He headed back to the small medical cabin to help his assistants keep Alex alive until they could get to a hospital.

Just before he left he turned back with his eyes hard with conviction. "If what you're saying is true, then I feel it is my duty to file a complaint. As a part of my responsibility as a doctor I am obligated to report child abuse if and when I ever see it and if this isn't abuse, nothing is."

* * *

20 minutes later the pilot informed them that he was almost within the city of Jaipur but with out an interpreter he couldn't ask the emergency service for assistance in finding a hospital to land.

The doctor sighed in despair. "I don't suppose any of you can speak even elementary Hindi?" The doctor half-asked half-stated

Wolf ceased his pacing and headed towards the cockpit, "English is my second language." he said simply

"Thank goodness" the doctor followed him into the small cockpit area to tell him what to say.

Not too long afterwards the pilot initiated the landing sequence over the well equipped SDMH hospital helipad where doctors and nurses were waiting to take the ailing patient into their care.

As the doctors and nurses transferred him to a gurney and wheeled him into the elevator, the the combat doctor continually fired information at Wolf for him to translate to the medical personnel. Alex was eventually taken to an operating room while a nurse directed the others to a waiting area.

"They're going to try stabilizing him right now and then move on." Wolf interpreted for everyone else." He held his head in his hands before dragging them down his face in weary suspense.

"I have to leave" the doctor announced "But I need his name and affiliation to file my report."

"This will probably sound incredibly dumb to you which it is, but he's our team mate and we only know that his first name is Alex and that, based on confidential information he told Wolf, he's a government spy." Eagle explained ", only way we can find out more is to ask him."

The doctor wrote down some contact information on a notepad and gave it to Wolf. "When you have the information I need let me know please. I don't know the circumstances regarding his unique situation but this," he gestured in the vague direction that Alex was gone in, "is the reason kids aren't soldiers and spies; somebody has to stand up for him." with that, the combat physician and the two EMTs left K-unit to wait for word on Alex's condition.

* * *

**Good night and thanks for reading and reviewing if you intend to.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well here is the last installment of Caught In the Crossfire for a little while but don't worry it won't be abandoned I don't think it will be years before I update again either. **

**I got some of the information for the situations in this chapter from an incident sometime back when my mom had an operation and the day she came home we weren't able to get her prescription pain reliever right away. For the time that she didn't have the medicine, the pain was hell. She actually cried and that's UNUSUAL. So I thought how much more Alex whose pain spikes with each breath... but you'll see. I just didn't want anyone to think his reaction was exaggerated.**

**Note: Warnings for cussing in this chapter.**

**Anyway enjoy and please review.**

* * *

After nine grueling hours of suspense, K-unit was exhausted with worry; Fox just sat staring at his sandy boots not seeing. Snake paced back and forth, continually opening and closing his utility knife. Wolf sat thinking with his hand over his eyes but he couldn't concentrate and Eagle was drawing obscene words on the leg of his pants, mumbling to himself. Suddenly Wolf snapped at Snake.

"Have you gone completely soft in the head?! Do you want to get arrested for playing with a knife in a hospital?!"

"waiting room" Fox added glancing up momentarily

Snake stopped pacing and stared at Wolf. "You think you're the only one affected by this, and so you have the right to call the rest of dumb, because we don't care?"

"It was your shallow minded actions that caused this problem in the first place. You had to be dumb to shoot a lethal shot at a kid we were supposed to interrogate. Then when that doesn't work you go and bust his chest open!"

"Don't pass excessive blame on me to make yourself seem more righteous Wolf!" Snake barked back at him "No one is blameless in this situation and you know fully well that I regret my actions to the fullest."

"That's why we have rules man" Wolf argued "'no lethal force' that's what we were told Snake and its for a reason; I know that you didn't mean to kick Cub in the chest like that, But you did it because you lost your temper again and even if the kid you kick hadn't been Alex with a busted chest it still would have hurt like hell because you can't control your temper."

Before Snake could answer, they were surprised to hear the head of the surgical team who had been working on Alex, clear his throat to get their attention. He introduced himself as Dr. Mohandas Lakshman looking between the four of them severely before explaining the situation to Wolf in advanced Hindi.

After a lengthy discussion, he paused to allow Wolf to translate for his teammates. The first thing they wanted to know of course was whether Alex had lived and would he be okay. Wolf was glad to be able to answer that positively but the other things the doctor mentioned were not so good.

Wolf explained to them that Alex had been in surgery all this time because the doctors had found that he needed considerable re-constructive surgery to repair his chest. Apparently, as the combat physician had surmised, Alex had recently had chest surgery for an extensive injury. However the site had not been given anytime to heal.

The doctors could see this quite clearly because of internal, absorbable stitches they found mostly torn away; the fact that they were still there at all meant that it had been no more than a month since the surgery. Secondly, much of the damage caused by the kick was really the reopening of barely healed blood vessels and excessive pressure on the heart because of the split sternum.

During mandatory blood test, they also found that he had abnormally high levels of various opiates in his blood stream. Because of this, not a few of the doctors and surgeons were suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his initial injury and those leading up to this latest one.

"What kind of low down shit is going on here?!" Snake eventually exclaimed "It sounds as though when he gets busted up, they stuff him with painkillers and sends him back into the field again anyhow."

"That's exactly what it sounds like." Wolf agreed

"Then what the fuck is a fourteen year old doing spying!" Eagle demanded

"We're gonna find the hell out in a little bit." Fox answered for them all. "In the mean time," he directed at Wolf "can we see him?"

Wolf relayed the question to the doctor.

After a short exchange, Dr. Lakshman signaled for them to follow him explaining things to Wolf as they went. When he stopped at the appropriate door, two nurses were leaving while a different one was just entering. Dr. Lakshman said something to her and she nodded before speaking to Wolf in English. "You are to be watched" she announced as she led them in. "Because of his fragile state and the evidence we have gather, you must understand that we do not trust you yet and it is our duty to protect the safety of minors who don't appear to have a competent guardian with them. Not to take them into custody you understand, but to ensure that their speedy recovery is not interrupted. " She sternly looked at each of their bewildered faces to make sure she was understood before going on.

"He is sleeping away the anesthesia now, but when he awakens he will be in a lot of pain. Because of all the narcotic pain killer residue in his blood, we're not sure whether it is safe to give him more; Morphine or Oxycodone would have been best but for now he is on ibuprofen which isn't very strong."

Wolf nodded looking at Alex properly for the first time since the whole ordeal had started. He was clearly in a deep comfortable sleep but it wasn't hard to imagine what sort of pain he would be in when he awoke.

"When will he wake up?" Eagle asked

The nurse seemed to consider the question for a moment "He might come around in anywhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours, but he wont be able to breath comfortably until we give him a stronger pain killer, and that's only if we find it safe to do so. In other words he may find it preferable to sleep off the days until the worst of the pain wears off."

"I see what you mean."

After a few silent minutes of everyone thinking their own silent thoughts, Wolf got up and announced to his team that he needed to go report on the assignment and find out if he could get a hold of someone to answer his questions. Eagle, who knew him well, knew that he also need some time alone to think.

A few minutes later Snake stood up. "Do you know where I could buy some flowers or a toy maybe?" he softly asked the nurse as she check all Alex's vitals again.

"You can go to the hospital's gift shop or if you prefer there are a number of similar shops around the streets surrounding the hospital but be warned; not all of them accept British currency."

Snake nodded "I understand, thank you."

Eagle decided to doze a bit because of their sleepless night while he waited as Fox sat pondering where this mess had begun.

* * *

Eagle was awakened a few hours later by the sound of moaning. He looked around and found that only he was in the room but he could hear talking right outside the door so he assumed that the nurse would be back soon. In the mean time it was obvious that Alex was in pain. Eagle went and sat on the bed and quietly called his name so as not to startle him.

"Hey Cub, wake up it's me Eagle."

That had the unwanted effect of startling Alex anyway. He opened his eyes suddenly and involuntarily gasped, ever so slightly, it was more just an audible intake of breath. But he immediately squeezed his eyes shut again as the pain spiked. Seeing the tears on his cheeks, Eagle frantically apologized.

"I'm sorry Cub, really calm down; I didn't mean to frighten you. Just-just breathe slowly and calm down okay?"

But it was no use. Because the pain persisted with each breath, so did the tears. Alex eventually decided to hold his breath altogether to escape the pain.

This alarmed Eagle even more.

"No! Alex you can't do that, you have to breathe." Alex merely shook his head and continued to hold out. "Alex, you can't not breathe; you'll faint."

Alex realized that this was true as he felt himself slipping so quickly, but he merely took a small short breath-nearly sobbing in the process-and held his breath again.

Eagle tried a different, less honest approach regretting it all the while "Alex, Cub listen to me, listen," he waited for Alex to look at him. He felt a twinge of pain in his chest when he saw Alex blinking away his tears so he could see better.

"Listen; do you want me to get the nurse in here to give you some stronger medicine?"

Alex nodded

"Then listen stop holding your breath else you might kill yourself while I'm gone."

Betrayal welled up in Alex eyes as Eagle spoke. He glanced around the room looking for a nurse call button or similar but Eagle shook his head. "Breathe Alex or else I can't leave."

Alex knew that Eagle was aware of such a summoning button, but the man insisted that he wouldn't use it or move unless Alex did as he was told. Before Alex got around to obeying him though, the nurse walked in of her own volition followed by Wolf and Fox.

"What the hell did you do?" Wolf accused looking from Eagle's silent form to Alex's miserable tear soaked face "He's crying for Pete's sake, why didn't you come get somebody?"

Eagle just shook his head and walked over to the window overlooking the road below, Wolf and Fox followed him curiously as the nurse tended to Alex, a terse expression on her face.

"You know, I've never had such an intense personal hate for anybody in my life." Eagle told them after a minute of silent reflection. "You hear stories all the time about kids getting beat up, used, abused, killed even by adults who just didn't know when to quit it. But it never happens within your little world so that the culprit can come under your full scrutiny."

Fox nodded understanding completely

"But Cub isn't a statistic anymore, he isn't some random kid who we heard about in the news and its happening to him in the most grotesque of ways because the government that should be protecting him is the one that's doing it."

Wolf studied his friend's angry stone set face. Eagle was the youngest member of their team. At 22 years old he was often the most enthusiastic and jovial of the four of them. He was always serious when he had to be and he had a quick temper, but not seeing as much of the world through the military as the others had, caused him to be more naive and therefore, more affected by certain things than the older men.

Wolf didn't doubt that when they saw Mrs. Jones of MI6 who was on her way as they spoke, Eagle would probably do something he would regret. Seeing Alex who was reminiscent of a kid brother to him, in such pain with a clear culprit to blame would mean that if she said or did anything that Eagle deemed 'out of turn' the other would be hard pressed to make sure he didn't blow up in her face.

Eagle watched as the nurse tried to coach Alex through some gentle breathing exercises but he wasn't listening and Eagle shook his head incredulously. "He woke up and recognized me, one small little gasp and the pain is so intense he can't get over it and he can't get anything to help with it either."

"It's like they're adding insult to the fucking injury and pouring salt in the wounds" Wolf added

"Exactly" Fox agreed

Alex still wasn't releasing his breaths properly and the nurse wasn't getting through to him. His behavior was not helping his condition in the least and the lack of adequate oxygen was fully apparent on his already pallid face. The nurse now resorted to a gentle threat of sedation again if he preferred. This got his attention.

He glanced around the room not really wanting to sleep because of his overwhelming curiosity to know when did everything go so wrong, but he wondered why didn't she simply give him a stronger pain medicine instead. Surely there was stronger than this he looked at her imploringly hoping he could ask her with out speaking. She sadly shook her head.

"I'm sorry Alex, right now we can't give you any stronger medication because there's been too much in your blood already; we're afraid more might poison you." he looked at her in confusion but she ignored his expression. "Would you like me to give you some medicine to sleep again?" she repeated

Alex hesitated, taking halting shallow breaths all the while trying to avoid the pain but avoid sedation as well. He wished he could get over it on his own terms but the nurse wanted results now.

"Cub,"

Alex looked around to see Wolf coming to stand by the bed. Alex's biggest question at the moment was why K-unit was here but asking anything right now was out of the question.

"Listen," Wolf sat down at the foot of the bed and looked Alex in the eye "I know that you're in a hell of a lot of pain right now; we know exactly what happened to you, and I don't expect you to want to bear it; But you're going to have gather some courage and cope with it because there's no medicine to hide behind this time; you're not going to get it. If they give it to you in the dose you would need, it might kill you and we don't want that." he smiled encouragingly, "Believe me when I say that seeing you like this hurts, it really does. But we rather you deal with it than get killed by some painmeds."

Alex tried to do as Wolf asked, he really did, but as he took deeper breaths squeezing his eyes shut in agony he just couldn't continue.

"Give us a minute?" Fox politely asked the nurse to leave, "just a minute" he insisted seeing she was reluctant to go.

"This is not good, not at all. He is making things worse for himself and this is no thanks to you." she answered indignantly.

"Really ma'am, we are not the ones responsible for his current mistreatment. If we could just talk to him, heart to heart it might help."

She pursed her lips.

"I will be back in exactly one minute."

When she was gone the men tried again. "Do what ever you have to do Alex, its okay if you have to cry, take it slow." Fox encouraged

Alex persistently shook his head and did not try again.

"Come on Alex you're not trying hard enough, you can get pass this" Eagle insisted

Whether it was because he was tired and irritable or frustrated with the men for not understanding his standpoint K-unit wasn't sure, but at that point Alex opened his mouth and told them to go away, an angry expression on his face.

They didn't actually hear him but the movement of his mouth clearly said 'leave me alone'.

Wolf looked at him questionable but his expression made it clear that he was tired of their company.

Just as they were reluctantly filing out they noticed Snake coming towards them laden with gifts. As Fox explained to the nurse just what was the matter, Wolf commented on Snake's baggage.

"You must be broke now." he asked sullenly

"Actually no," Snake answered in a somewhat better mood than when he had left. "What's the matter?" he gestured toward Fox who was talking to the nurse.

Eagle melancholy explained the situation to Snake, who then asked the nurse to give him a minute to set things straight. "There's something I need to say to him anyway."

"I should not be away from my patient for so long. I have no proof that you are actually helping him."

"We would never have normally done this to him. I mean going through the wood it was he who attacked us. Because of the situation none of us knew it was him but trust me we would never purposely hurt that child." Snake explained sincerely. "We only want to help him."

"One minute." she warned slightly convinced

"Thank You" and Snake took his peace offering and quietly entered the room leaving his banished teammates in the hall.

* * *

**Well there you have it. Please tell me what you think. I think this has actually become my most popular story. With almost as many alerts as my 9 chapter story with less than half the life behind it. **

**Speaking of other stories I recently wrote a one-shot featuring Alex and Yassen whom I've never written before. I'm thinking of trying my hand at his character more often but I need feed back on what I've done so far. The story is The Greater Good. Thanks in advance. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, here's the thanksgiving special I've been meaning to post. Of course the theme of this chapter is not Thanksgiving but I think you'll like it any way. **

**I know this is kind of short but I figured you guys would prefer a shortish update now rather than a longer one later. But the next update probably won't be so long in coming. **

**As always your opinions are much appreciated so don't hesitate to speak your mind.**

* * *

Snake took his peace offering and quietly entered the room leaving his banished teammates in the hall.

Alex was lying still with his face turned away from the door taking small shallow breaths; he'd come to the conclusion that slow and easy could work for now.

"Hey there," Snake said by way of a greeting. He decided to ignore Alex's behavior for now since it was working.

He set down the balloons in a corner of the room and some of the bags he had. Then he sat down in a chair by the bed so he could see Alex's face, "I hope you don't mind teddies; between Wolf, Fox and I, we got you three." He gently laid the toys on the bed in his lap. Alex glanced at him but his weary expression did not change.

"I know what happened and how mad you are at the others right now" Snake began seeing Alex at least paying some attention. ", but before I start telling you what to do like them, I need to apologize. And I fully understand if you can't stand my guts afterwards but I want you to know that I didn't mean to."

Alex stared him in the eye for a moment wondering if Snake knew something about why he was here all of a sudden; if he had something to do with it.

Snake was silent for a moment before he asked, "Do you remember going through these woods where you fought some soldiers?"

Alex nodded warily, giving Snake his full attention.

"And you were the agent in place who they were supposed to make contact with right?"

Alex nodded again, becoming frustrated and impatient.

Snake sighed "What I'm getting at is that we are the team you fought. Fox is the one who shot you in the leg, Wolf is the one who you kicked in the balls and I'm the one who pulled you out of the tree and kicked you in the chest." he paused to let what he'd said sink in because Alex looked bewildered.

"What I'm trying to say Alex is that I'm part of the reason you're in so much pain right now but none of this should have happened."

Alex stared at him for a moment with a mixture of bewilderment and betrayal. He looked as though he wanted to say something.

"But," he whispered in a cracked voice "Why… why would you fight a kid…at all?"

Snake had felt bad about that when they had first noticed that the person in the shadows was a kid, but then he'd pushed it to the back of his mind and went forward with the mission.

"Well Alex to tell you the truth, Fox was really against it. The rest of us had not actually intended to fight, but when you attacked we just followed through and… regretfully, treated you like an adult instead."

Alex nodded in what seemed to be a dejected manner.

"Cub…I hope you don't think less of us because of this, it's not what you think; we never meant for this to happen."

"I…I don't blame you for doing your job." Alex breathed ever so slightly. ", But what if it had been another kid, would you be this sorry?" He stared steadfastly at the white teddy bear on his lap. It was large in his small hands and it had a bright blue bow around the neck.

When Snake said nothing Alex added; "I can't help thinking that the instructor was right."

Snake looked up when Alex said that, not sure what it meant but he did not get to ask him because the nurse reentered just then.

"One minute is up."

Snake leaned back from the bed and glanced at the nurse nodding absently. As she came around to check Alex over more completely, Snake thought about what Alex had said.

Thinking of the situation the way it must have looked to Alex meant that they had let him down. In his eyes they were soldiers and nothing more because they had been willing to hurt a child, as a mostly insignificant consequence, to reach a goal.

He stood up looking down at Alex uncertainly wondering if he should leave. Alex's manner was tolerant at best but it was obvious that he was surprised, to say the least, and disappointed that it had been his friends who had hurt him like this.

The nurse buzzed around a bit more checking everything before leaving. She was particularly concerned with his breathing rate but he seemed to be performing satisfactorily because she congratulated him on remaining calm and steadying himself.

She explained that she would speak to his doctor about the issue of his medication and that she would be back again in ten minutes. "If you need anything just press the button." She informed him.

Alex nodded.

She glanced at Snake telling him that she was alright with him staying longer if it was okay with Alex. Then she left.

"Well Cub, I'm gonna leave you to rest and maybe-" Snake began uncertainly turning to the door. He honestly did not think that Alex wanted him there at the moment. But he was interrupted.

"No." Alex spoke loudly so Snake would hear him. But he regretted it immediately grabbing his chest in pain. Alex squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip in frustration as the intense ache in his chest flared. Snake came over to him again and rubbed his shoulder while patting his hand which tightly gripped the sheets, until Alex was able to calm down somewhat. He was surprised when Alex suddenly gripped his hand instead in a strong desperate hold.

"You should relax Alex. You really, really need the rest. Don't talk just sleep." Snake felt even worse.

Alex nodded but he continued to hold Snake's hand tightly.

"I don't hate you Snake." Alex ground out "But I don't forgive you either."

Snake acknowledged his reply with an understanding nod. He continued to hold Alex's hand reluctant to deprive him of the little comfort that he so rarely sought.

K-unit had seen Alex hurt or in pain plenty enough but the kid had always acknowledged their concern in a non-chalant manner that meant he'd preferred to blow it off and deal with it alone.

He had to really hurt to reach out like this. Snake sat down again by the side of the bed and watched Alex struggle for some composure. Knowing Alex, Snake was pretty sure he felt pathetic and fragile right now but that was okay; they all knew what he was like when he was at his best. He was a tough kid. He deserved a little help.

After a minute more Alex tiredly opened his eyes and glanced at Snake. He seemed to be surprised that Snake was still there although his grip had not loosened. He looked lost for a moment before focusing on Snake again.

"I need my medicine." He croaked out suddenly

"Alex when the doctors think it's safe to give you more you'll get it."

"No, I need mine." Alex insisted with a tinge of urgency in his voice

"What do you mean?"

"My pain medicine, I should have taken it by now." He whispered

"Exactly what medicine are you talking about Alex?" Snake asked guardedly. He did not want Alex to talk but this was important.

"My injection is fine to use; I won't get sick from it." His eyes had drifted shut again and his brow was slightly wet.

"Alex, what medicine?" Snake asked more urgently. He leaned a little closer so he could hear his whispers.

"In my dorm, my Morphine."

Snake felt the need to press him for more answers "What do you have Morphine for Alex?"

Alex's hand was shaking slightly "So I could work…after the surgery."

Snake's face darkened "But Alex you just had surgery."

Alex frowned irritably opening his eyes again. "My other surgery, for the gunshot.

"Where is the medicine?"

", in my room in my pillow." He licked his lips which were suddenly very dry "I had to hide it or they'd kill me."

Snake listened with a morbid expression.

"Abhijat would have loved to." Alex mumbled still keeping Snake next to him.

Snake realized that Alex must have been taking prescription Morphine for some past surgery, but what he meant when he said 'so I could work' Snake did not want to think about.

Alex was probably right when he said that his previous prescription would not harm him. It would be safer than estimating a new dosage without access to his past medical records.

But if that was so, Alex would not have access to safe medication until either Mrs. Jones arrived and could retrieve his records or someone got his medicine from the blasted school he'd been investigating.

The latter wasn't an option. They were too far away so the other option was to wait. Hopefully Alex could wait.

Snake studied Alex's gaunt pale face. "If you rest right now you'll feel better. You just had major surgery kid; you should sleep more than anything else."

"It won't work without the medicine." Alex insisted

"Alex if you don't relax I'm going to have to ask the nurse to help you sleep."

Alex stared at him angrily but didn't say anything.

"When Mrs. Jones arrives we'll be able to-"

Alex stiffened "Why?" he asked

"Why what?"

"Why is Jones coming?"

"We asked her too." Snake wondered why exactly Alex was apprehensive but he did not question him further. "We need to find out what's going on with you and MI6.

Alex released a shuddering breath and seemed to sink further into his pillow nodding.

"Um, yeah, I was saying that when she gets here we'll be able to get you another pain medicine." Snake continued "So will you relax and sleep in the mean time?"

Alex nodded ever so slightly

Snake smiled encouragingly "I know you'll get pass this Cub, and we'll find out what's going on with you; so we can help you out."

As Alex drifted off, Snake thought about what Alex had said a little earlier.

"I'm sorry this happened Alex, but we'll make it up to you." Alex's hand fell to the bed as he fell asleep completely.

Snake sighed and got up. He needed to let his teammates know what he'd found out. Apparently Cub was in a very bad way.

Wolf, Eagle and Fox were talking quietly in the waiting area but they all stood up when Snake approached.

"How is he?" Wolf asked as Snake was close enough to hear.

Snake flopped down into a nearby chair. "He's finally asleep."

"What's the matter?" Eagle demanded "You find out something?"

Snake nodded "He's been taking prescription Morphine. If I'm not mistaken he's developed physical dependence on it."

"He told you this?" Fox asked

Snake nodded "He was begging for it."

"Why is he taking Morphine and who gave it to him?" Wolf asked

"He said it was 'so he could work after the surgery'." Snake answered in a heated tone

"What!" Eagle exclaimed "work? After what surgery?"

"Apparently for surgery after some gunshot wound." Snake explained "and he had to hide the kit from the people he's investigating too, said they'd kill him if they found out."

"What the fuck is going on?" Eagle wondered. He was angrily pacing now.

"You mean he's taking injections?" Wolf asked incredulous

Snake nodded

"Oral probably isn't strong enough." Fox explained "I mean surgery after a gunshot injury which, based on the combat doctor's observations, was to the chest, would need some wicked pain meds. And now you're confirming what the doctor surmised when he said he's been working on top of it."

"Were they going to wait until he fucking collapsed and died?" Wolf nearly yelled

Snake dragged his hands over his face leaning back. "No wonder he screamed like that when I kicked him." He whispered "I literally busted his chest open."

"My God." Fox whispered "What are they doing to him?"

"I'm going to find out and make them fix it." Wolf proclaimed furiously "It's going to be hell between me and them if he dies. Okay? They're not getting away with it. This is going to be all over the fucking news in a little bit. They. Just. Can't. Do. That."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Damn it!" Wolf marched around severely agitated by the news Snake had brought. "I'd like to speak to the arsehole whose idea this was," he hissed "and give him a piece of my-" he broke off remembering where he was but the other men knew what he'd been about to say.

He eventually sat down to wait for Mrs. Jones to arrive with his teammates, growing more impatient each minute.

**

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Happy Thanksgiving ! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so I sort of fell off the updating planet for a little while but I'm actually still here.**

**I just got a brand new laptop last week and since then I've been working on my stories everyday leading up to a brand new update for this. **

**I think the next thing on this list of updates will be For Better Or For Worse followed by Let No One Think I Gave In. Stay tuned.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

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"We have a problem Alan." Mrs. Jones announced gravely as she entered his office and strode over to his desk.

She dropped a small packet of papers on the meticulously neat surface of his desk.

"I'm leaving for India tonight." she explained "Apparently someone screwed up."

He glanced up from his seat looking moderately concerned before taking out his reading glasses and reviewing the report she rudely dumped before him.

After a moment he groaned. "I specifically asked that his old unit, who he's become so irritatingly attached to," he added, annoyed "be particularly exempt from this assignment. I wonder how _that_ got reversed."

He neatly folded the stack together again. "What's become of it?" he asked guardedly

She revealed another two sheets she had been primly holding behind her back. "A hell of a mess." She answered handing them to him.

"According to the Captain of K-unit, no communication was able to take place before Alex was severely injured in combat. However they now have evidence of Alex's less than fair treatment." Here she placed a freshly unwrapped mint on her tongue and looked at Blunt meaningfully. "He needed medical records sent over as soon as possible, which I've already taken care of, and they are now making request for more information on the issue." She paused "and they're not asking nicely."

"Well K-Unit is not in a position to be making such demands." Blunt pointed out in a cynical tone. "When you get there you need to have them review the clauses of the Official Secrets Acts and what it would mean for them to disregard it."

Mrs. Jones nodded "But I also have reason to believe that Alex has told them some of what he knows." She pointed out "The men have nearly the same level of clearance, but…"

"Yes, but this could become a major problem." Blunt decided. He sat quietly thinking for a moment with his fingers steepled before his face.

"He apparently hasn't taken this seriously." He thought out loud "And those men may be able to manipulate him into telling more than he intends."

"I understand that K-Unit has a particular influence on him," Mrs. Jones explained "But the nature of the injury itself is what has risen the most suspicion."

"I understand that but he has to be punished, now, before things get out of hand." He decided

"But Alan he's-" Mrs. Jones objected.

"Mildly" he continued despite her outburst "But not so mildly that he doesn't get the picture." He paused to be sure that Mrs. Jones was following "Have him separated from K-Unit as soon as possible. That way this sharing of information will end. Tell him he has been forbidden to have any further contact with them because of this."

Mrs. Jones nodded although disapprovingly "And what am I to tell K-unit when they demand an explanation?"

"Cite their mishandling of our Agent which resulted in this mess in the first place." He answered coldly as he neatly stacked away the papers on his desk.

"They're not going to buy that." she responded

"They do not have the clearance to request any other reasons."

He looked up again after a moment. "We cannot afford for a leak of any sort on anything pertaining to this subject. Alex continues to hand out first rate results time and time again. He's doing this country a favor." He reasoned "Bring him over as soon as possible and if further disciplinary action is necessary, we can more easily see to it. Understood?"

"Yes" she answered simply, unhappy with the turn of events for Alex.

"Good." He nodded in satisfaction at his own plan

"Have a safe flight then." He added dismissively turning back to his computer.

"Thank you." She answered coolly before briskly leaving his office thinking that her job had been slightly less difficult and definitely less personal before dealing with Alex Rider.

* * *

"Its all clear then." Wolf announced rejoining his teammates in the waiting room of the SMHD hospital where they had now taken up residence.

"We're to stay until this is sorted out or Alex is transferred back to Britain; whichever comes first." he explained

"Okay" Snake acknowledged

"Meanwhile, they've started him on codeine right now so he should be more comfortable in the mean time"

"On to the plan then." Fox began, sitting up straight

Wolf plopped down beside him. "What plan exactly?"

"Well you didn't think we could actually go to the news stations did you?"

"No. I am aware of the fact that this is sensitive information."Wolf answered glumly "We couldn't reveal that without serious repercussions."

"Exactly." Fox answered wryly "But Cub can."

"Are you saying they've given him this work to do without even making sure he would keep his mouth shut first? Snake asked

"I'm sure they have but, because of the circumstances there are some things he could reveal talking to the right people." Fox explained

"Like his doctor." Wolf suggested catching on to the idea.

"Yeah," Eagle agreed "But not those blokes at that place where they send him."

"St. Dominic's" Wolf offered

"Right. Because really the amount of times he's been there and no ones said anything..."

"No. We definitely couldn't go to his MI6 prescribed doctors." Fox continued "We'd have to take him to one of our doctors."

Wolf was quiet for awhile. "That's not going to be easy." He eventually interrupted "It would take too long. The best thing to do would be to carry him to a normal pediatrician. Have them check him out and hear his side of things. That's going to be much easier than getting a hook up with somebody up at HQ."

"But you still have the information for the doctor who dealt with him in the helicopter." Eagle argued.

"You're right." Wolf acknowledged "but he's got certain limitations as well."

"We need to keep MI6 in the dark about it." Snake added "This sort of thing could become a nasty scandal, and I'm not sure I want to know what they'd do to cover it up."

The rest of them agreed.

"But we're forgetting Alex himself here." Fox remembered "Why exactly hasn't he told anyone yet? What's stopping him?"

Eagle nodded thoughtfully "You mean, is MI6 stopping him or does he have his own reasons."

"Right."

"Well of course MI6 is stopping him." Snake remarked "he's an agent who is apparently in the business of handling sensitive data. They're brutal but not stupid."

"True, but I don't think that's all. And the only way to find out for sure is to talk to him." Wolf concluded. He fingered the stubble on his chin. "I think I'd better handle that."

"Why?" Snake particularly want to know.

"I think he'll have it easier revealing those sorts of things to me because of certain conversations we've had in the past." He stood up. "But I don't mean its going to be easy. He's not exactly going to trust us right now. Right?"

He looked at Snake for an answer.

"He doesn't hate us, if that's what you mean but,... I guess you could say he's disappointed."

Wolf shook his head sadly. "And I understand why; we abused him, a child, just like MI6."

Fox sighed "Maybe that's why he hasn't spoken up; maybe he doesn't have anybody he can trust."

"Yes he does." Wolf countered firmly. He turned towards the elevator to go up to the paediatrics ward. "I'll let you know what I find out."

"You think he's awake?" Eagle asked

"Maybe not but I'll also use this as an opportunity to check up on him myself." Wolf responded carefully

Eagle nodded knowingly

When Wolf quietly closed the door of Alex's room behind him, he was surprised to find Alex was not sleeping as peacefully as he would have expected.

In his darkened room, a sheen of sweat could be seen on his brow and his expression was troubled. He wasn't talking, he wasn't even moaning. But he looked extremely sad.

Wolf stepped over to him, hesitating to touch him lest he repeat the mistake that Eagle had made. But he just seemed so depressed, so troubled, that it seemed cruel to leave him. Wolf sat down by the bed and gently took the boy's hand.

When that did not generate a negative response, Wolf soothingly rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb.

After awhile, Alex's expression relaxed slightly but Wolf could tell he was waking up rather than sleeping anymore deeply.

Wolf took a moment to study his young teammate properly, wondering about his well-being.

Alex did seem somehow more subdued than when Wolf had last seen him. He looked as though he had lost some of his resilience. When Wolf had called on him at the end of summer term, he was his usual sarcastic self with a handsome tinge of color to his complexion. In short he had seemed fit and well.

Now he had the look of someone who was battling an illness. A long winded one that was draining him. Wolf wondered if he had really been on the job with a damaged heart all these weeks functioning on pain meds.

Wolf shook his head silently, finding it all kind of hard to believe.

He felt Alex slowly grip his hand, coming up out of sleep. He watched him, unsure of how Alex would react when he learn that it was Wolf providing his small comfort.

Alex slowly opened his eyes acutely aware of the pain in his chest but also the familiar ache in his head. Now much more intense than minor side effects of his pain medicine.

As a wave of despair washed over him he found himself taking comfort in the presence of a reassuring hand. Turning his head to regard his comforter with appreciation, he was surprised to see that it was Wolf.

His eyes widened slightly but he kept still.

"How are you feeling?" Wolf shifted slightly

"How do you think? He whispered coldly "I need my morphine."

"Which morphine?" It was a good place to start.

Alex squeezed his eyes shut, riding out a wave of pain.

"MY morphine. The one that was prescribed for me. Give it up."

"What are you talking about Cub?" Wolf leaned closer still holding his hand "These doctors haven't given you any."

A soft sob forced its way from Alex's lips and his grip on anything within reach bordered on desperation. "Cut the bullshit and give it to me."

"Alex, I'm trying to help you." Wolf dragged his free hand through his hair and let out an unsteady breath. "Please let me help you?"

"Give me the fuckin morphine!" Alex's sobs became more pronounced and the tiny streak of tears squeezing out of his shut eyes unnerved Wolf further.

"Why is it so fuckin hard to do that?"

"I don't have it Cub. I didn't even know about it."

Alex opened his watery red-rimmed eyes and sniffled, settling his gaze on Wolf again.

"Then why are you here? You're no help to me. You onl-"

"Alex I came to help you, I need to find out who did this to you. Who messed you up like this"

"You did Wolf."

Wolf visibly winced and almost hung his head

"You were on a mission remember? And since a kid got in the way you tried to kill him. Cause that's what soldiers, do right?"

His voice was icy cold, but he hadn't let go of Wolf hand yet.

"No Alex we di-" Wolf half-heartedly tried to explain

"You're only sorry cause it's me." He sniffled turning his head to the side with a fresh bout of tears. "You have no real moral problem with it."

"No Alex, that's not true. We never meant for this to happen. Don't class us with people like that Alex; cause its not true and you know it."

"Then what's the fuckin difference?" Alex sobbed even as his voice took on a hard edge "Did you not see me in the dark? Did all four of you mistake me for an _actual _threat?"

"We did not intend to engage in combat Alex. Our only intention was to question you but we had to get you to stand still first."

"A bloody good job you did too."

"Alex."

"Give me my fuckin morphine." he whispered

"Alex, who gave you that morphine?" Wolf ask quietly.

Alex was too overcome with misery to answer and Wolf didn't push him. Instead he got up to retrieve the box of tissues on the table nearby.

He handed Alex two of the tissues and sat down again taking his hand. Eventually he tried a different approach.

"Cub, why didn't you tell me you got shot?" the pain in Wolf's voice was not fake.

"I couldn't" Alex answered in an irritated matter of fact voice.

"Yes you could Alex. We're friends, friends can share important secrets like that."

Alex turned to him, something similar to disgust was on his face.

"Friends don't do this to each other Wolf!" He whispered fiercely "They help you. I can't remember how the hell you've helped me lately."

He paused

"You just..." his voice broke with a suppressed sob "You just..." He was reliving the moment and Wolf saw it. "You didn't even give me a chance."

His anger was dissolving into despair.

"I'm so sorry Alex, so sorry. I..." Wolf hung his head low, feeling even lower.

"It hurt so much." Alex's eyes were closed.

"But I want to help you now Cub. I want to repair the damage we've caused but you have to let me in. Give me a chance to make this right."

Alex squeezed his eyes shut and his body shook with the weight of his despair. His dependence on the drug was not the only thing wreaking havoc on his emotions.

He stayed that way for a few minutes failing to compose himself; despite his best efforts the tears continued to flow.

"Please let me help you Cub." Wolf pleaded

Alex squeezed Wolf's hand reaching out despite himself. Fresh tears flowing from his eyes.

"You have to fix it Wolf. You... you have to help me." He could barely get the words out.

"I will Cub." The brave front that Wolf had tried so hard to maintain since entering hadn't held up very well and his voice was near a whisper now.

"Just tell me how Alex and I'll start from there."

Alex withdrew his hand and wiped away his tears. He pressed his palms against his eyes as though trying to force the tears back and wiped his nose to compose himself.

He glanced at Wolf and found his eyes red rimmed, reflecting the misery and self loathing that he was experiencing.

Wolf felt Alex's hand trembling on the sheets and he could see with certainty that Alex was on the verge of a serious withdrawal from the drug he so desperately wanted.

"Can't you get me something for the pain?"

"I promise I'm going to go and have a talk with the doctors in a moment, but everyone wants to know, how and why are you addicted to it in the first place. The doctor say that your tolerance level is very high; you've been taking too much."

"I got shot about a month ago in my chest. They gave me a 3-month supply of Morphine injections." Alex explained dejectedly

"Did it happen on a mission?" Wolf carefully asked

"No, I was leaving debriefing and a sniper shot me."

Wolf silently processed this watching the play of emotions across Alex's face.

Alex glanced at him wincing at his headache which had grown worse.

"He was from Scorpia." he offered

Wolf thought about this not bothering to hide his surprise.

"Alex can I ask you something?" he eventually said

"Yes." His voice was surprisingly flat; as emotionless as a pain wracked body can produce.

"Why do you go on these missions?" Wolf shifted in the chair leaning closer "Why are you here in India instead of under your blankets in you bed at _home_?"

Alex lay back and closed his eyes in obvious frustration. "I have to."

"Why the hell do you have to do this Alex?" Wolf pulled on his hair "This is a grown ups world. What makes you feel that you have to be a part of it at the cost of your own health. Who is making you feel like that?"

Alex refused to look at him. "See I knew it would come to this. I knew this is what you wanted to know."

"But Alex can't you see this is killing you?" Wolf moved to sit on the side of the bed trying to get Alex to see sense.

"Can't you feel it? They're killing you right now."

Alex opened his eyes again to stare at Wolf. "I'm not in the hospital in pain because of them right now."

Wolf's laugh was dark and mirthless. "Don't be naive Alex. Do you think you could have continued forever; pretending you were okay when you couldn't feel the pain? Your ribs were held together by some fuckin wire. What do you think would have happened when that artery popped huh? Suppose somebody else got to you before us. The people you mentioned for example. You would have been dead in an instant."

Alex did not answer. He just stared with a stubborn expression.

"Why are you in the field after such an injury Cub, what have they got over you.?"

"Who else is going to do it Wolf?" He suddenly asked frustrated

"Who else is going to do it!" Wolf was visibly agitated "What the hell do you mean who else is going to do it? Someone else is suppose to do it Alex."

"Well they don't. They give me every reason for why I have to do it. They say no one else fit's the bill, that the consequences aren't an alternative, how I'll be perfectly safe, how…." he trailed off "I have to." He eventually finished.

"Its a lie Alex." Wolf looked as though he wanted to throttle him for not understanding. "Surely you see that! How did they even get a hold of you?"

Alex just leaned back tiredly, wishing they weren't having this conversation yet at the same time glad that they were.

He knew he'd get in trouble for revealing things, but Wolf was forcing it out of him right?

He knew he was going to die soon at this rate. The idea was not at all new or foreign to him. Just sort of out of his control. Wolf was taking some sort initiative now; that was good.

"I went to find out what had happened to my Uncle when he died." Alex offered quietly, sounding defeated "They explained that he'd worked for them and that he was killed on the mission and they need me to finish it."

"My God." Wolf laughed mirthlessly, pacing around the room. "Oh my God."

Alex got quieter. "They threatened to deport Jack back to America and send me to a boarding school if I didn't."

"Fuck" Wolf plopped down in the chair.

"They said I'd be safe." He seemed to argue in their favor "Besides, I needed to know what my uncle had died for."

"That was the first time huh?" Wolf looked grave.

Alex nodded not meeting his eye.

Wolf nodded quietly in answer. "I see Alex. This isn't your fault. None of it is." He reached into his pocket but didn't withdraw anything.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna deal with this and make things right."

He stood up looking down on him with remorse and something akin to affection.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you Alex. Its taught me something about myself and my team and..." he looked down at his hands "and... well I hope I can earn your forgiveness."

He moved to make his way to the door when Alex called him.

"Yeah," Wolf looked back expectantly

"Could we just...sit quietly." He hesitated "For a little while."

Wolf smiled reassuringly. "Yeah," he sat down again in the chair beside him. "I think that'd be nice."

"Thanks Wolf." Alex whispered sounding almost embarrassed.

"Not a problem Alex. That's what friends do."

**

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**

**There, no cruel cliffhanger this time. Just some heartwarming bonding time until **_**she**_** arrives. **

**I wonder how that's gonna go.**

**Review please.**


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